For the first time, the CNN/Time poll shows more Americans don’t think homosexuality is morally repugnant than do. For more than 30 years, since 1978, a majority of respondents to the poll have said “homosexual relationships between consenting adults is morally wrong,” while a minority have said homosexuality “not a moral issue.”
That is, until this Presidents Day Weekend, when 50% of respondents said homosexuality is not a moral issue, while 48% said that it was morally wrong. Two percent said they had no opinion.
The number of respondents calling homosexuality morally wrong has fluctuated since the 1978 poll. Back then, 53% of respondents said it was immoral to be in a gay or lesbian relationship. In 2001, that number was 55%.
At the same time, the number of Americans who say homosexuality is not a moral issue has risen to hover around 45%. The poll released today was the first time the number rose to 50%.
Other results from the poll also suggest changing attitudes towards homosexuals in America. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents said they favor allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, the highest number of supporters ever recorded for that question by a long shot. Just 27% said they’re opposed to allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the U.S. armed forces. Resuls from polls in 1994 and 1998 showed about 50% of Americans favored allowing homosexuals to serve openly while about 40% opposed it.
